Shift Timing

Shift Timing moves every subtitle in a file by the same offset. It is the fix for a subtitle track that is correct but consistently early or late — the dialogue matches, it just arrives two seconds after the mouths move.

Setting the offset

Type the offset in seconds. Positive numbers move subtitles later (use these when the subtitles appear too early), negative numbers move them earlier. Decimals are fine, and are what you will usually want — -0.4 is a common correction.

The −1 / −0.5 / +0.5 / +1 buttons add to whatever is already in the box, so you can walk the offset up and down without retyping it, and Reset puts it back to zero. The preview updates as you go, so you can read the new first-subtitle time straight off the table.

Working out the right offset

Play the video with the subtitles loaded and find a line whose exact moment you can identify. Note the time it should appear and the time it does, and subtract: if a line shows at 00:01:12.0 but is spoken at 00:01:14.5, the subtitles are 2.5 seconds early and the offset is +2.5.

Do this near the start and again near the end of the file. If the two answers agree, a single shift fixes the whole thing and this is the right tool. If the gap grows as the video goes on, the subtitles were made for a different framerate or a different cut, and no fixed offset will fix them — use Sync Subtitles, which aligns against the audio and corrects drift as well as offset.

Nothing is pushed before the start

No subtitle format can express a negative timestamp, and the ones that try are read back by players as an enormous positive time — a subtitle that vanishes for four hours. A negative shift large enough to push a subtitle past the beginning of the file therefore pins it at zero instead.

You can see this in the preview: the affected rows show 00:00:00.000 rather than a negative number. If several early subtitles pile up at zero, the shift is bigger than the file has room for, and it is worth checking the offset.

What is left alone

Only the timestamps change. The text, its formatting, ASS styles and overrides, and every subtitle you did not shift stay exactly as they were — see Tools for what that guarantee covers.

To shift only part of the file, use Shift a Section instead.

FAQ

Which direction do I need?

If the subtitles appear before the words are spoken, they are early and you need a positive offset to push them later. If they lag behind the speech, use a negative one.

Can I shift by milliseconds?

Yes — the field takes decimals, so 0.25 is a quarter of a second. The buttons move in halves and whole seconds for speed.

The subtitles start right but drift further out as the film goes on.

That is a framerate or different-cut problem, not an offset, and no fixed shift will fix it. Use Sync Subtitles in the editor, which re-times against the audio itself.

Do I need a licence?

No. Shift Timing is free and works without activation.

Does it work on ASS files with styling?

Yes. Only the Start and End of each event are rewritten; styles, positioning, karaoke and typesetting are untouched.